The Way I notice you
by Lady Eponine Black
Summary: After giving up her daughter to her old boyfriend Horton, Mayzie must make a difficult choice. And although Mayzie still has feelings for him, she knows that its never meant to be. Which is for the best, of course, because of Gertrude. Right?
1. Notice Me Horton

Horton sat in a corner in the back room, tuning his guitar. His dark hair fell over his enchanting green eyes, and he had a soft smile on his handsome face. Evening light poured from the window, and cast him in a sort of hazy glow, the effect altogether ethereal. Gertrude Mcfuzz, the part-time bar worker, paused for a minuet at the doorway, taking in the sight, before entering the dingy space. She was tall, but not very pretty, with long brown hair and a thin, peaked face. Horton barely looked up as she handed him a coke, only mumbling a quick thanks before going back to his music. Gertrude sighed, and backed away, leaning her slim body against the doorframe, gazing out past the window to the dark smudge of the Nool Forest on the streaked horizon. Her home. His home. Their home, from where she'd followed him, to be with him. All she ever wanted was to be with him. He had to know that, right?

"Horton…" she murmured softly. He didn't look up. When he was trying to write a song, he was all but unreachable.

"Horton…what do you think of me?" he didn't answer, as she knew he wouldn't, being much to involved in his music. She tried again. "I mean, am i just your odd little neighbor? Really, Horton. I know I'm not like Mayzie, but I'm _here_. Horton.. i want to talk to you, to be with you. I could help you, Horton, we could be great together, we really could. I know i couldn't be your lead singer like Mayzie, but i know i could help you. Please, listen to me. I'm not just your freaky little neighbor any more. I'm different now. Please, Horton, look up from your guitar, notice me, look at me! At least look at me?" He didn't, and she almost cried with knowing that she had almost ruined her chances with him. She walked over, and touched him on his shoulder, his warmth spreading through her like the sun. "Horton? I'm…sorry, i didn't mean to…" He looked up, and she could see he was wearing earphones. He hadn't heard a thing she said, and somehow that made her sadder then if he had. He yanked the buds out and smiled that shaggy, heart wrenching smile at her.

"Did you want something, Gertrude?"

"No…Never mind." He smiled again and went back to him music. she backed slowly away, out into the doorway, her heart thudding. He went back to him music. she knew that his music was his soul, that it was his hope. Music was what he poured his heart in, what he believed in. music was what made him a person. And she understood that, because that was how she felt about him.

" I won't give up on you, Horton." She whispered to the dust mites. "I've loved you ever since saw you and I'm not going to stop now. I know you have Mayzie. I know you love your music better then anybody in this whole world. I know that all that matters to you is writing that one perfect song. But i don't care. Maybe the world would be a be a better place if everybody loved something as strongly as we did. Like i love you." She lingered for a minuet, watching hi, wondering, before she left.


	2. Mayzies Reprise

Mayzie LaBird lingered for a second outside the run down club; the _Seuss_. So this is where they're playing now, she thought, and it hurt her that she hadn't known. Three years ago, she'd thought that she'd be here with Horton, her cute rocker boyfriend. Three years ago, when she hadn't know how things were going to end, when it was still fine between them. Before The big Mistake. Before Kirt. Before Ellie came along as ruined everything. Ellie. Mayzie looked down at the ten-month-old baby in her arms, amber eyes screwed tight, blond curls covered by a cap. She still like the comforting weight in her in her arms, like the baby was saying "I am here. I love you." She smiled in spite of herself. Ellie was sweet. But being part of Horton's life again would be sweeter. So why was she doing this? What on earth was she thinking? She knew Horton might still love her – she knew she loved him – but this was crazy. Ellie was her daughter, she couldn't leave her with an absent minded guitarist, never mind how cute he was. But she needed to get away, and Ellie's father would never take care of the baby – Christ, she didn't even know where he was now. And even though she hadn't seen Horton in almost three years, he might make it ok, just like he always used to, before she'd left him for Kirt. At first, she'd thought having a baby could be kinda fun – you know, someone who loved you, needed you, was there no matter what. She'd been wrong. It had been her choice, and she'd screwed it up, totally. And now she was gonna have to tae the rap for it – or not, not if Horton could. She could leave Ellie with Horton for a few months, go and sing with the _Monkeys_, who'd offered her a deal. No problem, no questions. She'd get some money, get her plans sorted out, then come back and get her daughter. Only, the problem was that she didn't know that Horton would say. She hadn't seen him for almost eighteen months. She'd gone back to Nool after a huge argument – he hadn't even known she was pregnant when she left, did he know now? She hadn't seen or spoke to him since then. Well, there was no point turning back now, not after she'd come all this way. She smoothed down her orange halter top, running her hands over the flat stomach that hadn't been there a month ago. She took a breath, and opened the door.

The plain girl behind the bar looked up when Mayzie entered. Mayzie thought she looked kinda familiar, but couldn't quite place her.

"Horton?"

"He's in back, you can go in."

"Thanks…Gertrude?"

"mayzie?"

"Yeah. Haven't seen you in a while." That was who she was. Gertrude, Horton's weird next door neighbor. Kinda strange she was working here. That girl was like a stalker.

Horton looked up when she entered. She saw his face blanch as he recognized her, then saw the baby in her arms. He looked shocked He was still adorable, sitting on an overturned milk crate by the window, his guitar in his lap.

"Mayzie…" he swallowed, and stood up.

"Yeah," she whispered, her throat suddenly gone dry.

"Who…who is that?"

"That's my daughter. That's Ellie."

"Mayzie, I…"

"Horton?" He moved towards her, then stopped, and smiled. "What is it?"

"Its just….i could never picture you with a baby."

" Neither could i. But it happened."

"Yeah."

"Her name is Ellie, she's real sweet."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"I never should have let you leave with that Kirk jerk."

"Kirt. It wasn't his fault. I wanted the baby. at first."

"He was a jerk."

" I guess so. I met him Fort Worth, he was a singer."

"You really have a thing for singers."

"I know. I can't help it. I thought i was so lucky, that such a star as Kirt was dating me. I thought we were happy. I guess we were. But then he left for San Juan, after he learned i was pregnant. Again, i thought i was luck, so lucky, to have been love by him, to be bearing his child. That's all i ever told myself, that i was lucky. but i'm not Horton, i'm not." she had tears on her face, wet and cold as the darkness outside. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she leaned into him, crying and shaking.

"Mayzie, I'm so sorry." She sniffed and wiped her face, shaking her head.

"It was my mistake, not yours. But oh Horton…..I can't be a mother, i can't. Its so hard, It makes me so frustrated. Its day after day after day of all the same, i just can't take it anymore."

"Mayzie….."

She leaned into him, and she was beautiful and crying and she smelled like orange blossoms.

" Horton…take care of Ellie for me?"

"What? Mayzie, what do you mean?"

"Take her. Take care of her."

" I can't do that1 I'm not even her father. I'm busy here."

"Not forever, just for a month or so. I need to get out. I've had an opportunity, i need to take it. I'll come back for her soon, Horton, i swear it. I'll send you money. Just for a while, so i can get back together. You will, won't you?"

" Well, i guess so. _Mayzie_. Your daughter, really? What do i do?"

" Better then i do, i bet."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You'll come get her soon, i can't…"

"I know. Soon."

"I have to write my song. You know that?"

"Yes."

"I'll see you soon…hey, stick around, come to the show."

"I can't."

"Well then….Goodbye."

"You to, Horton."

"Mayzie, wait!" but it was to late. She was gone. Horton stared at the child in his arms. She stirred, her amber eyes opened, looking just like her mothers.

"I'll take care of you, Ellie. I just wish your mother had given me more to go on."


	3. Horton Copes With Fate

Horton knew absolutely nothing about children, but there he was, saddled with a baby that wasn't his. Finally, that evening, after Ellie's shrill cries grew even shriller, he approached Gigi, Bella, and Ria, the three back up singers, in the hope that they would have some advice for him.

"Is she yours?" asked Ria.

"We don't know anything about children." Said Bella.

"She's really cute, though." Gushed Gigi.

"Pretty hair."

"But we can't help you here."

"tough luck. You could - "

" – have said no, you know."

"But I guess Mayzie can do that."

" So its your problem."

" Sorry." Said Ria. "You're on your own here, Hort. They giggled, and went back to applying their mascara. Horton sighed, and logged on to his laptop to look up childcare.

So Horton did his best, feed the girl when she was hungry, changed her when she was dirty, and hoped that for the rest of the time she'd sleep. But days slipped into each other, and their stint at the _Seuss _was drawing to a close. And still Mayzie hadn't returned. It had been almost two months, and Horton hadn't heard anything from the mother of the little blonde girl with her thumb in her mouth, sleeping peacefully in the back room.

Between the band and the child, Horton had very little time on his hands. And although he still sat down with his guitar in whatever spare time he could muster, his song would not come, his mind was a blank. He was searching for his one song, his hit, the song that awakened the yearning in his chest. He knew that once he found this song, he'd find himself. He churned out songs for them to sing every night, songs that shook the room and made people sing along and smile. He was talented, no doubt about that, but those songs didn't count for him, not if they were the songs that kept them out of debt. His song wouldn't be like that. It would be the song that was written for the emotion, not the money. But no matter how hard he searched, it would not come to him. The words might flow, but the emotion was gone. Somewhere inside himself, he wondered if the return of Mayzie and the removal of Ellie would spawn his song, and so he hoped even more fervently for his former girlfriends return.

"Horton?" Gertrude poked her head around the door. It was almost midnight, one of the few moments he'd been able to snatch for himself in over a week. He was hunched over his guitar, occasionally strumming a cord or two. He glanced up at her with those gorgeous eyes, and smiled a fleeting, tired smile.

"Gertrude, Hey,"

" I brought you a coke."

"Thanks."

"How's your song going?"

" Not to good."

"That's to bad. Need any help."

"No –well, actually, yes."

"Yes? What for?" her heart speed up to the speed of cheetah, racing over mils of pointless savannah to her only love.

" Well, listen, Gertrude, have you heard from Mayzie?"

Gertrude nodded, slightly thrilled that he was asking her for help, but annoyed that it was about Mayzie. As always.

"She sent me a postcard." Gertrude admitted, thinking of the cheesy, smiley card that had came in the mail the other day. _kisses and laughter from palm beach wonderful weather cute guys xxxxxx mayzie._ "She's in Palm Beach, or, at least she was the other day."

"Palm beach? Do you know when she'll be back?"

"No, sorry."

"Jesus, Gertrude, what if she never comes back?"

"I'm sure she will." Said Gertrude, although in all honesty she was quite more positive of the opposite. Horton sighed. Time was running out, and they'd have to leave the _Seuss _soon. He was stuck between his career, and this tiny, technically motherless, baby.

"What do i do?" he asked Gertrude, in a last ditch attempt to gather his sanity.

"You do both." She said. "what other choice to you have?"

Ad so time went on.


End file.
